Watch Me Fade
by Ellie and Joel-The Last of Us
Summary: His father a subordinate, his mother a traitor. And the blame is all given to him. Why?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

As I watch the miraculous deep blue skies flecked with hasty patterns of gray clouds, all I can think about is her. If it were not for her delicate past and my ominous future, we might've been together. My breathing is slow on intake as the shiny, sleek form of a raven circles overhead and doubles back on the current. Something heavy, like a rock, bangs into my chest as I realize that this is a symbol of her. Nightbreeze.

But how dare she, she was the one to kill all those kits, and not even save them from the fire. I guess it is useless now to accuse her of everything. She is gone. But if I could for a moment, tell her off, show her again, the effect might've been different.

Oh well, we shall never know….


	2. Chapter 1: Father

My father, was kind, soft-hearted, his voice lighter than the cool breeze on a warm, dusty spring day. I could never fully believe that he wanted me to suffer such pain, because I am familiar with the cruel look in a liar's eyes whenever they speak. I've seen it long before.

I was born to him and Bess, two young, self-indulging cats whose recklessness created my birth. I wasn't overly pleased, as you can imagine, to be born by pure mistake. But Bess and Oliver were quite good at keeping secrets. This would carry on for a while.

It was one of those mornings in the group when I was the first to wake, and therefore the first to hunt for the rest. I had only heard of the law-abiding clans, never been in one. As Denial was far from it. They used us kits as a way to get what they wanted, quite a threat when it came to my wellbeing. But I sneaked past the rusty barb-wire fencing as skilled as any of those obsolete fools.

The warm sun on my dark pelt created a butterfly in my stomach, which soared into my ribcage and stayed there for a while as I ventured to new grounds. The sweet smell of the fresh air was enough to make your head spin, yet I was somehow able to continue. A gray, squeaking creature was communicating with it's fellows, trying to reach safety before I crossed their path. Too late.

I grin at my mini-victory and carelessly tumble towards them, grabbing one of the many before it is too late. The soft velvet fur reaches my tongue as I take my fangs and insert them in its neck. Would Rhubarb appreciate this pleasant little surprise?

I sure hoped so, as I threw myself on to my stomach and dared not lift my head until my tail had safely crossed the ancient lines.

I picked up my mouse that I had shoved underneath and just as I started to get up, I noticed two large reddish paws, the fur bathed in flames, and as I gave an involuntary shudder and looked up, there he was. Rhubarb.

A shadow lay before the monstrosity, huge and looming over me and covering my own. "Hello." I meowed. "Hello." His silky, unctuous voice echoing in my ears. "I was just, getting this for you."

"You were? How nice. But it seems you went under _the border._" I bob my head quickly in appreciation. "Why? Haven't I told you _not _to cross the border?" He continued. "Yes." I hear myself meow sheepishly. "Well then why don't you listen?" Rhubarb pronounces every word as if I were dumb. And it made me feel more stupid than I already felt.

"Because I got this mouse for you."

"Do you think you should have, with the brigades so near?" He asks. "No." I reply meekly. Gosh, this infuriated me so much. But even I knew not to lash out at the leader. He swept an unsheathed claw over my head and I ducked. He leaned in close to my ear, and I could smell that vulgar breath of his. "Don't get caught. That's all you need to know." He told me.

I nodded. He had taken the mouse to his lair and was leaving. Who could believe my luck? Certainly not I. And just as a empty-brained kit does, I fled under the wire once more, determined to find more than a mouse.

Yes, what I found was much more.

A small bodied, olive green eyed cat stood before me. I gave a nervous chuckle. "What's so funny?" It snapped. She, _rather. _For it was so delicate, so feminine, that it must have been of the opposite sex. "Nothing." I meowed quickly. "'Then shut up!" She hissed. "Besides, you're invading my land, so I suppose I should turn you off." Her scent came to me. It wasn't of enemy, it was of rogue. So who was she kidding, _her _land. "Turn me off?" I repeated blankly.

"Oh yes…" There was no sound, but her claws slid out of her black paws so fast, that I swore I could hear blades grinding against each other. "Turn you off." She replied icily.

"You can't!" I unsheathed my own. "Watch me." She was on top of me, and her claws were digging into my chest, and deflating all that ignorance and pride I had contained in me moments before. She gave a little giggle as I squirmed in pain. She was _enjoying _this.

Surely this was another kit of Rhubarb's we were yet to discover. (He had been known to have slept with as many cats as the hairs on his tail.) She had that glee inside of her that she could hardly hold in as she was defeating me. But dear me, I wasn't going to allow a young cat to beat me like this. Especially a young _she _cat. "Get off!" I scraped her belly fur with my hind claws.

The black she-cat gave a low hiss and toppled off of me, only to come at my throat again. She bit down and I rolled on to my side, feeling flesh disconnect from the bone. She had something dark and dripping in her mouth, and then she dropped it. That was my skin.

I felt the icy air whipping into my unprotected wounds. And I hoped she felt the same. She gave another cackle however, and turned on her paw to leave. I had to get her back! I took a leap towards her fading image, but something real, something physical held me back.

"Hold on there, son," Purred my father, holding on to my scruff. Who was he kidding? I sank under his touch. "I could've won if you let me." I sneered. "Oh really." Now he was carrying me like a kit past the barriers, and into the inviting warmth of the den.

And that was my first encounter with Night. One of utter failure and rejection. One as sweet and harmless as poison, and one that I would never forget.


End file.
